My Pivot Journal is a Ventures Africa weekly series documenting people’s career transitions from one industry to another, especially to tech.
Olukunle Aboderin has always been a numbers guy. However, his love for entertainment led him to a successful career in DJing. After a few years of spinning records and touring with high-charting musicians, the uncertainty of the future led him back to the one thing he knew best: crunching numbers. Here’s Olukunle Aboderin’s pivot journal.
How it started
Growing up as a child, I possessed a natural affinity for numbers, far more than I did with words. But besides academics, I found joy in engaging in social activities and entertainment, which led to my appointment as the Social Prefect in secondary school. When I had to pick a course to study in the university, I chose to study Physics. It was my area of strength and my core competencies were calculations and quantitative skills. So I earned my bachelor’s degree in Physics from Osun State University.
But that was also where I started my career as a DJ. I was very skilled and would always play the latest Nigerian pop music back then which made a lot of people like me. I even got an award as Best DJ in Osun state in 2011. Alongside DJing, I hosted radio shows, including the most popular game show in Osun state at the time, and hosted a music video countdown program on TV. I got to work closely with hip-hop artists like MI, Blaqbonez, Loose Kaynon, and Beatsbyjayy at 100 Crowns, a subsidiary of Chocolate City Music.
Epiphany
As much as I wanted to continue DJing, I knew I needed to build a career that offered a more stable income than the entertainment industry offered. DJing was my passion, but I couldn’t rely solely on it to support myself long-term. This motivated me to uncover my skills in a more lucrative profession. During NYSC, I served at an early-stage fintech company in Lagos and eventually got retained as a full staff after my service year. This pretty much set the foundation for my career in finance.
Transition
Transitioning from DJing to finance was not a walk in the park. However, because I had a natural inclination towards numbers and mathematics, it made it easier to navigate. I took a lot of financial courses online and got certifications across several areas of proficiencies. I recall a six-month period during which I immersed myself in getting a lot of certifications done. This entailed dedicating a substantial portion of my evenings, often extending well into the late hours of the night, to study these courses.
I enjoyed the challenge, primarily because it involved working with big numbers. Suddenly, all those algebra and calculus lessons from my school days started to make sense to me. My focus shifted towards becoming a proficient guide in statistics, adept at managing large numerical datasets and applying them to solve complex payment-related problems. Then I decided to get my master’s degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Lagos where I developed expertise in risk analysis and quantitative modeling.
I spent a significant number of years at the company that retained me after NYSC, before I went on to work with several banks like First Bank, FCMB, and Skye Bank, working across several departments within operations, technology, and data. These diverse experiences taught me a lot, equipped me with diverse technical skills, and gave me cross-functional exposure within the finance sector, which significantly accelerated my professional growth and how formidable I have become in my career so far.
How it’s going
I currently work as the Associate Vice President of Financial Operations and Treasury at Flutterwave, a payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across the continent. We use payments and FX technology to connect emerging and frontier markets to the rest of the world. We make it easier for people in these markets to send and receive money, and we give them access to the lowest prices and fastest settlement times. One of the challenges of working in emerging markets is that the regulations and infrastructure can be complex and ever-changing. I believe that the devil is in the details. It is important to get things right the first time, which can be challenging, especially when you’re a first mover in a new market.
Over the years, advancing my degrees and certifications has equipped me with critical finance, statistics, and computer science knowledge. Recently, I acquired another master’s degree in Data Science and analytics from the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. I believe learning is a life-long process. That’s why I am committed to investing in my growth.
Career hack
Rather than chase after society’s definition of success, focus on identifying and developing your innate talents. For instance, if you love numbers, work in data analysis or accounting, if you love designs, focus on UI/UX, and so on.
When it comes to transitioning, it’s essential to segment your path wisely. Ensure you have transferable domain knowledge when transitioning to a new industry. For instance, moving from healthcare to the tech sector can be smoother if you transition into the biotech domain, rather than making a leap into fintech from healthcare, and vice versa.
